Marcus & Boupha - Wedding

In August we did Boupha and Marcus' engagement session and had a blast in Old Towne. This time around was even better, a perfect fall day for a wedding in Culpeper County, Va. The setting was on the Inskeep ("ins-kip") family farm and surrounding properties which have been in their family for generations. With the late afternoon sun shining and the cool breeze blowing the ceremony was held in the middle of a field under a huge and historic oak tree. We stayed in that same area for some of the portraits and even got cool hay bails in some of the shots.

Boupha was absolutely gorgeous in that stunning dress yet daring enough to walk around fields and an old farm for pictures - Boupha you're the best!

The reception was in the Bull Run Hunt Club, which in its former days was a school house where Marcus' father attended as a child. We were also introduced to traditional Laotian dance from Boupha's side of the family. The dance was a calm and elegant dance involving intricate hand movements that even inspired some first timers to give it a shot.

The reception was lively with some serious dancing, partying and superb cake!

Congrats you two, we are so happy for you!!!


Click the following link to see the entire set: http://www.pictage.com/595747
This was a Martha FitzSimon wedding.

Miss Fiona

At 2 years old, Fiona is a delightful little girl who enjoys, drawing, singing, and cooking (yes, cooking!). Aside from being an absolute doll, she has tons of personality and I found myself wondering what this remarkable child will be like as she grows. It was my pleasure to try and capture her just being her magical-little-self. I hope you enjoy this slideshow as much as I enjoyed meeting Fiona and her family....

(please turn your sound on)

Lawrence & Tammy - 10/4/08

Kristiaan and I had the pleasure of photographing Lawrence and Tammy on Oct 4 at the beautiful Lansdowne Resort in Lansdowne, Va. The weather couldn't have cooperated any better and the days events followed suit! We were deeply touched by the strong bond of family and friends who were not only so kind to us but were so true and dear to Lawrence and Tammy. This is really what makes a wedding day so perfect.

Lawrence and Tammy - a big congrats once again from us to you!
























































Sign up for their wedding photos at www.pictage.com/524535.

Project 10 to the 100th

“Got an idea that could change the world, or at least help a lot of people? Google wants to hear from you -- and it will pay as much as $10 million to make your idea a reality.”

I think this is totally awesome and commend Google for initiating this. Its simple, if you have an idea, small or large, that can help others, submit it to Google. Personally I think 10 million is nice but it means so much more to me that someones idea is going to be promoted for the better of others.

I am always coming up with 'inventions' or gadgets that would totally be useful in real world applications but nothing of substance, nothing that could potentially impact the lives of others. Now I have the chance to throw on my thinking cap and make an attempt

This is simple, there's no entry fee, the application is short and easy to fill out.

What would you do to help others? Our future? Our children? The poor?

Here is just a small example of an idea submitted already; Hip Roller . While this is a much larger project with sponsors already dont let it deter you from submitting something.

How to apply? Go there => http://www.project10tothe100.com/index.html

Guess who's engaged?

So as long overdue as this may be I guess its time to dish out the news. Kristiaan and I are engaged!

I had an overly elaborate plan to propose that did nothing but get more elaborate the closer and closer I got to the special day. I would actually turn into a book if I wrote it all out.

I've actually had the ring for almost 2 years now. It is a family heirloom on her mothers side which was sent to my mother from her mother.

Back in April '08 I decided I was going to buy her an iPhone and use that to propose. However just an iPhone was not enough. I put together a slideshow which includes pictures starting from the first day I met her to many moments in between and ended with pictures me and the ring at the Nipple Tree... What is this nipple tree you say? Well a special location from one of our first big dates in Shenandoah Valley which we've dubbed, the nipple tree (for obvious reasons). Now mind you there are a variety of pictures that I included, some of which I had to remove for safe public viewing :) Some are meaningful, some are funny, some are simply random, some are out of focus and others are just confusing - but in the end its been a great series that I am happy we'll be able to continue together.

After spending a little over a month creating the slideshow which actually plays along to one of her favorite songs, 'Wind' from Naruto, I decided to present this to her on August 13th.

As the whole event was a surprise I came home from work, tested the slideshow on the iPhone and waited until she got home. Around 7:30pm I slipped the phone into her purse and began calling it as she was making dinner. Of course I assumed that she'd hear it, look for it and find it in surprise... Negative, the ring couldn't be heard because I had accidentally turned the volume down. So then I had to sneak into her purse to get it out and find another suitable location.

Every night she gets on her computer and this evening was no exception, so I hid the phone in her top right drawer and left the room to go play some Playstation 3. During my gametime I called the phone over and over only to hear her screaming out "Babe, there's this weird noise in here and I don't know what it is!" Of course each time I walked into the office where she was sitting I would stop calling from my phone and act like I was totally clueless to her complaints. Yet she didn't bother to really look around for what was making the sound - for you iPhone owners I had set the phone to vibrate + Harp.

After about almost two hours of calling her (22 missed calls) I got fed up and walked in there while calling (phone in my back pocket) and pretended to be surprised by the sound. I asked her if she looked around in her drawers or other places and had to suggest for her to open the top right drawer.

FINALLY!!!

She was in total shock and I was an nervous wreck from all the anticipation. We spent the first 25 minutes going over features until I mentioned there was a little video on there for her. Of course I practically started sweating and she later informed me that she was sweating while watching as she suspected it was coming.

Now I wouldn't be telling the story if she hadn't said yes so no need to ask what her answer was :)

Well here is my little iPhone picture proposal (I'm sure there will be pictures or sayings you wont understand but it all means something to us).

Thanks for viewing:
(You will need quicktime to view this)


p.s. No official date has been set but it will not be in 2009...

My first maternity shoot!

My friend Sally (Mannix Photography) allowed me to crash her maternity shoot a couple of weeks ago. It's something I have always wanted to try and I loved it. It's mind boggling to think that our bodies can grow an entire human! Wow! Our mom-to-be, Tamaqua, had a wonderful time with the shoot. Here are a few of my favorites: